Sliding door lock



, Aug. 17, 194s. A, VANDERVELD 2,447,219

j -sLIDING DooR LOCK Filed April 50, 1947 l 2 Sheets-Sheet l A. VANDERVELD 2,447,219

sLIDING DooR Loox 2 Sheets--SheerI 2 Mvc-:NTO ANTHONY VANDERvx-:LD

v WS

Aug. 17, 1948.

.Filed April 5o, 1947 Patented Aug. 17, 1948 signor to Grand Rapids Store Equipment Com pany, Grand Rapids, Mich., acorporation of Michigan YApplication April 30, 1947,.Serial No. 744,923

` This invention relates to locks for sliding doors, which in practice are located at the open side of a showcase or display cabinet in vertical position, and are movable slidably in parallel, closely adjacent vertical planes. When the doors are in closed position they in general overlap at their adjacent vertical edge portions. Such doors frequently are known as all glass, that is, without surrounding border frames. However, while the invention is disclosed in use with such all glass doors, it is not limited Vsolely thereto.

In many uses of the sliding glass doors for closing the fronts Vof upper display compartments in cases or cabinets used in stores for holding and displaying merchandise, it has been desirable to have a lock for the doors which will hold them against opening when they are closed after a days business has been transacted, and which lock may be key operated and simultaneously serve to lock both doors, or unlock them, and which is housed within the lower carrying supportv for the doors which receives and guides them at their lower edges. Locks of this character for sliding doors have not heretofore been successfully produced,

YWith the present'inventionthe locking means used is below the lower edges of the doors. lock for one door is key operated and is connected to a second lock for Vthe other door so that both locks work together in simultaneously locking or unlocking the doors. When the doors are unlocked and one or both of them moved from closed position, means are provided so that if the lock is operated while a door or both doors are open,l an automatic engagement and holding of the doors will occur when they are moved to close the entrance opening in which they are mounted. When applied to display compartments of merchandise cases which may be located against a wall of a store, the doors will be at the front of the upper display compartment, and the lock at approximately head or shoulder level of a clerk of the store, so asvto be easily operated. The lockfof course, is applicable to showcases which are accessible for entrance at the back, in which case the lock will be closer to the door.

It is an object and purpose of the present invention to provide a lock having the desirable characteristics noted, which is readily manufactured and installed, is economical to produce and sure in its operations.

AnV understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is afragmentary elevation of the lowerV OneA 8 Claims. (Cl. 'Z0-82) part of a sliding glass door 'equipped case or com-y partment, having my invention applied, the supeach end thereof,

porting guide means at the lower edges of the doors having the front side thereof removed,

Fig. 2 -is a plan of the lower guide support for the doors with the locks mounted therein, one at Figs. Sand 4 are horizontal sections substantially on the planes of lines 33 and 4-4lofj Fig. 1, looking in opposite directions as indicated I by the arrows,

Figs. 5 and 6 are fragmentary, somewhat er1-- larged elevations and partial sections, showing thef key operated lock in its locked and unlocked poA sitions, respectively, and

Figs. 7 to 11, inclusive, are transverse vertical i sections on the planes of lines 11, 8-8, 9 9,

. lower member of channel form having a bottomv llll0 and I I-l l, respectively, of Fig. l, looking;V

in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Like reference characters refer to like partsJ in the different figures of the drawings.

A door carrying member in which the doors; are mounted, for example, at the front of theupper display compartment of a Wall case, or at' the back of a showcase, includes a horizontal web l and inner and outer spaced vertical ilanges 2 extending from the longitudinal edges thereof. f

lIhe vertical sides 3 of the frame are of an S-bar form as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The frame is completed by an upper horizontal member, not

shown. The frame structure is not in itself new and its structure need not be entered into detail. The width of the lower channel is greater than the combined thickness of two sliding doors 4 which are to be mounted vertically within the frame. Each door at its lower edge is equipped with a channel border 5 of metal -which at its outer end portion is inclined upwardly as at 6, the bottom of each channel 5 at its end where it joins with the inclined section 6 having'an opening 'l therethrough for the passage of a locking tongue. The lower corner portions of the glass plates 4 from which the doors aremade, l

`passage thereinto of the locking tongues which are used, as hereinafter described. A longitudinal vertical plate 9 is located lengthwise of the lower frame channel midway between its sides 2.

tion means, suitably-.spaced may ride upon the Connected with it at opposite sides l are two narrow channels l0 filling the lower parts of the spaces between the vertical flanges 2 and'- the dividing plate 9. Balls I'I, or other antifric- 1 these balls the border members 5 at the lower edges of the doors 4 bear to ride thereon. The lower edge of the plate 9 does not reach to the bottom web I, nor do the bottom webs of the channels II reach thereto. Spaced flat plates I2 are interposed between the bottom I and the channels III and lower edge of the plate 9 (Fig. 9), and said plate 9 and connected channels Ill are secured thereto and to the bottom I of the` main lower frame member by screws. The chan-A nels I do not extend the full length of the bottom frame member (Fig. 1), as theyare cutoff to provide for the locks, one for each of the doors. therefore, one at each end of the lower door frame member.

A key actuated lock, having a body I3, is located toward one end of the lower open door carrying frame and secured in place, at its inner side having a vertical plate I4 which parallels the flangesZ and the dividing plate 9. At the inner side of the frame (Fig. 2) it is screw connected to theadjacent inner flange 2 as indiated in Fig. 2. A key operated barrel I5 is rotatably mounted to turn.. on a horizontal axis and extends through the body I3. It has a pin I6 at its inner end eX tending into an opening I'I in the plate IllV (Fig. 10).. Pin |61 is offset and moves with the turning ofthe/barrel I5 in said opening. I'I.

Ahorizontal cover plate I3 (Figs. 5 and d) lies over and is secured to the body it of the lock and at itsfinner end has a down-turned flange I8; Toward its vother end it has an opening 2e which is located immediately below the mening- 1 `at the outer end of the lower border member 5 of the inner glass door, that is, the one which isv guided'at its lower edges between the inner' ange 2 and the dividing plate 9 ci the lower door frame member.

-Alockin-gdog ZfIis provided at one end with an upwardly extending tongue 22, and at its: other end ispivotally mounted to turn on a horizontal axis on a pin 23 carried bythe lock body I3..` A torsionspring 24, as shown in` Figs. 5 and 6,' normally, when free of restraint, turns the tonguef22 to an upper position to pass through the. opening I-and into the recessA at 8 when its. associated door 4 is'in its closed position, as in Flgsf. Pry-turningV the barrel I5, by a key, about its axis, the pin IS cornesv against an inwardly turned-'ledge-ZS atl the lower edge of the dog 2| and between its ends, thereby depressing the" tongue 22 (Fig. 6) andlunlocking-the door.

A bell cran-k lever 26 isr pivotally mounted'at these/me side oft the body I3 as the locking dog 2li It has one arm 21 extendingundier the lower edge/of the free end' portion ofthe dog 2| soas to' beturnecl counter clockwise when the dog is: forced down tothe position in FigH 6, and has a` second' arm or projection 2B extending downwardly. An elongated flat bar 29'; lying at the yupper-sideofthe ybottom web I`V of the door frame, extends atf"oneendA underneath'th'e lever- 25, is vertically thickened'at said end', and has an. opening 3-in-to^ which the` projection 28 extends.. Therefore, when thelockingY dog 21 is withdrawn,` being moved from` the position in' Fig. 5 to' that inliig; 6l, simultaneously the barv 29' is' bodily movedfinl the directionA of itslengt-h tothe right.v (Figs. 5and'6`-.) The intermediate vertical di"-y viding'y pla/te 9Y iscut' away-l at thev endthereof which reaches to the.. lock described, andA has a narrowedauppen portion. 9a (Figi. 10) abovev the. oo ver plate |582 so that the guidesv for the' lower: edgesf-.off the ldoorsf extend the full lengthl of` the lower door frame member.

. closed position, and means connecting.saidloclc-` l' The bar 29 extends lengthwise of the under web I of the lower door frame member from the outer flange 2 to the inner ange (Fig. 4) and is provided with a hook or dog 3l (Fig. 1) which is in engagement with a downwardly extending tooth 32 on a locking dog 33 pivotallly mounted on one of the vertical plates 34 (Fig. '4) which 'are' located, one at each side of the longitudinally dividing plate 9 near the opposite end of the lower door frame member. The dog 33 has an upwardly ex tending tongue 22a to pass through the opening 'I in the lower channel'border member 5 of the other sliding door E, and normally will move to its upper positionV (Fig. 1) when free to do so under the inluence of a, spring 24a. The vertical plates 34 have oppositely extending flanges I8a at their upper edges, serving substantially the same purpose as the plate I8, and also at their inner ends may have down-turned parts IfSa (Fig. 1), between which and the down-turned sections I9 the ball carrying, longitudinal channels IU are located.

When in unlocking the ydoor through a key operated lowering of dog 2| (Fig 6), bar '29: is moved longitudinally, it simultaneously pulls upon the tooth 32 and swings the-dog 33 downward, simultaneously unlocking the door with which it has been engaged. Both sliding doors are freed for sliding movement at the same time. On rotating the barrel I5 back to its initial position, the locking dog 2l is released to move upwardly, as in Fig. 5, whereupon' the spring 2ML returns the locking dog 33 to upper 'position 'as in from which itv was pulled. The inclined sections 6 ride overA and depress the locking tongues 22l or 22a if thelock is key releasedl with theV doors or either of them partly open, when afte'rward' the doors are moved .to 'closed position.

The structure described is economical to build and assemble in place, and with 'it the entire' locking mechanism is housed in thev lowerl sidev of the frame in which the doors are slidably' located. No part of the locking 'mechanism is mounted upon the doors, except th'ekeeper structures which receive the projecting tongues ofthe locking dogs. With upper compartments ofl display cases. the key operated mechanism i's directly accessible to the store clerk so-that the operation of locking or unlocking the doorsk is almost instantly performed.l

The invention is dei-ined in the appended claims; and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming` within their."

scope.

I claim:

1'. In a structure 'as described, a door c'z'arrying frame, vertical doors mounted for sliding movement therein, onewithin the other, said- 'frame having a lower frame member and mountingsl for` the lower edges of the doors upon whichthe4 doors are slidably movable', a key operatedr lock at one end of-v said lower frame member, overl which one of said doors cornesv whenvit' is` in' closed position, a movable locking' `memberjincluded in said lock movablev intoV and out' ofr locking connectionwith said door whenY itlvi'sin closed position, a second movable' locking mem-* ber located at the opposite-endy offsaid l'cwe'r frame member, movable. into vand.' out oflocking connection withV the otherr door! when itis-'in ing members for simultaneously.' locking' .both doors when they are in closed position.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, each of said doors at its outer lower corner portion having a downwardly `and inwardly inclined lower edge and a recess to receive its locking member, whereby, when the locking members are in operative locking position with the doors open, they are forced downwardly by said inclined edges riding thereover until said receiving recesses are positioned to receive the locking members.

3. In a structure as described, a door carrying frame, vertical doors slidably mounted therein in parallel planes one within the other, said frame having a lower horizontal frame member means thereon to guide said doors at their lower edges, means within said lower frame member upon which the lower edges of the doors slidably rest, a key operated lock at one end of the lower frame member including a pivotally mounted locking dog having `an upwardly turned tongue at a free end thereof, each of said doors adjacent its lower outer corner having a recess therein, key operated means for turning said dog downwardly to lower the tongue thereof, a second pivotally mounted locking dog at the other end of said lower frame member having an upwardly extending tongue at its free end, yielding means normally tending to turn said locking dogs upwardly, and connections between said dogs for simultaneously turning the second locking dog downwardly upon key operation of the first mentioned dog in a downward direction.

4. A structure as defined in claim 3, said connecting means comprising, an elongated bar, and means at its ends operatively connecting it with the locking dogs.

5. In a structure as described, a door carrying member having a lower horizontal frame member of channel form with a horizontal bottom and spaced vertical outer and inner sides, an elongated plate midway between its sides dividing said member into outer and inner parallel guide channels, door carrying means located in the lower portions of said channels, a sliding door resting 'at its lower edge on each of said carrying means, each of said doors at its lower corner portion being recessed, a member having an opening therein covering each of said recesses, a, locking dog movably mounted one at each end of the lower frame member, each having a projection adapted to enter a recess in an associated door through said openings to said recesses, when the doors are in closed position, yielding means normally moving said locking members to enter said projections into said recesses, key operated means for moving one of said locking members to disengage it from its associated door, and means connected with the other of the locking members and actuated by the movement of the first mentioned locking dog for simultaneously moving it to disengage from its associated door.

6. A structure as defined in claim 5, each of said doors at its outer lower corner portion having a downwardly and inwardly inclined lower edge section extending outwardly from the opening made for entrance into the recess of each door for riding over the projections of the associated locking members when said locking members are Ireleased with the doors in open position.

7. A construction as defined in claim 5, each of said locking members being pivotally mounted at one end and having said projections at their opposite ends, said key operated means comprising a rotatable barrel, a pin extending from the inner end of said barrel, and a ledge on the iirst locking member engaged by said pin at its upper side when the barrel is rotated to thereby move said locking member kin a downward direction.

8. A structure as defined in claim 5, said locking members being located at opposite ends of the lower frame member below the lower edges of the doors, said means upon which the doors are slidably mounted extending longitudinally between said locking members, means for mounting said door carrying means ya short distance above the bottom of said lower frame member, and said means connecting the locking members comprising an elongated bar extending between them under said door carrying means.

ANTHONY VANDERVELD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

